Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced on Thursday that a concerning 54% of non-domicile commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals in North Carolina were found to be issued unlawfully, according to federal reviews.
This revelation is part of a broader national audit being conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of truck licensing practices across the states.
If North Carolina fails to revoke these illegitimate licenses, it’s facing a significant penalty: nearly $50 million in federal funding could be withheld by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
Duffy expressed serious concerns, stating, “It’s alarming and shameful that North Carolina isn’t adhering to the rules. We need to act quickly to remove these unsafe drivers from our roads and rectify this situation.” He also highlighted the commitment of himself and President Trump to ensuring public safety on the highways.
The FMCSA reported in a letter directed at North Carolina Governor Josh Stein and Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, revealing that the state had improperly issued CDLs to unqualified individuals, including those whose legal authorization to be in the U.S. had expired and whose statuses weren’t verified by state authorities.
FMCSA Secretary Derek Bars categorized the noncompliance in North Carolina as “egregious.” To maintain access to federal funds, the state must halt issuing non-domicile CDLs immediately, identify all current ones that don’t meet compliance, and if found compliant, reissue licenses accordingly.
Addressing this issue was prompted by a tragic incident in early 2025, when an Indian national with a California-issued CDL was allegedly involved in a fatal car crash in Florida.
In California, a similar concern was raised where more than 100 foreign truck drivers were arrested as part of an operation following serious accidents involving state-issued CDLs. This is while California has already revoked around 17,000 questionable licenses as it participates in a nationwide audit spurred by a traffic safety executive order from President Trump.
States are now under pressure to perform thorough internal audits to uncover any lapses in procedures, training, and policies that allowed for these problematic CDLs to be issued.
